A South Carolina man was convicted Wednesday of a rape that happened 12-years-ago in Williamsburg. The conviction marks the first time a person has been brought to justice in Virginia by familial DNA searching.
Tyrone Lamont Holloway, 37, was found guilty by a Williamsburg jury for the September 12, 2001, abduction and rape of a young Hungarian woman working at Busch Gardens that summer.
The crime remained unsolved until last year when the Virginia Department of Forensic Science conducted a familial DNA search and found that the assailant was a brother, father or son of a man whose DNA profile was in the state’s offender databank.
The searching was not used for a long time due to controversy and privacy concerns. Governor Bob McDonnell approved it for use in Virginia in 2011.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Department of Forensic Science’s policy says it is only used to help solve violent crimes in which public safety remains at risk.
Click here to read more about the case from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
